Studying orgo during summer?

[wlee43]

Should I do it before I take the class this fall? Is it a good idea and will it help me in the long run? If so, what books do you guys recommend?

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[bold text]

NO. Wait until class starts and enjoy the rest of your summer.

 

[JJMrK]

No. Enjoy your summer.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I also say no. I did great in orgo 1, really enjoyed the class, and decided to pre-study for orgo 2. Then I bombed the first test because I'd taught myself wrong. I threw out all the notes I made over the summer, went back to studying as I went, and came back to make an A after all.

Basically, don't risk learning it wrong in the first place. It's hard enough learning it right the first time without UNlearning misconceptions.

 

[once]

I say do some reading during the summer. Not only will it help you loads being familiar with things, you will be able to learn much more in-depth since you have a head start. I recommend getting "Organic Chem as a second language" for some light reading to get a good grasp of the bare basics. I have been skimming through my copy before I take orgo in the fall. As far as reading the actual textbook: go easy and don't overdo it and as someone else said, don't teach yourself wrong.

It's foolish to think that prereading the material won't help, so study hard or go home brother. =p

 

[OMG Lizards]

Go buy a model kit and ORG as a second language and you'll be straight.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I say do some reading during the summer. Not only will it help you loads being familiar with things, you will be able to learn much more in-depth since you have a head start. I recommend getting "Organic Chem as a second language" for some light reading to get a good grasp of the bare basics. I have been skimming through my copy before I take orgo in the fall. As far as reading the actual textbook: go easy and don't overdo it and as someone else said, don't teach yourself wrong.

It's foolish to think that prereading the material won't help, so study hard or go home brother. =p

... unless you learn it wrong.

That said, if you're going to preread, O Chem as a 2nd language is a great place to start and gives you a firm grasp of the basics--and O Chem is definitely a class where it's absolutely vital to get the basics from the first month or so of class.

 

[sonia1177]

Should I do it before I take the class this fall? Is it a good idea and will it help me in the long run? If so, what books do you guys recommend?

Do it. I think it'll help loads in the long run. And I don't understand, if you are using the book as a guide, how can you teach yourself wrong? I am not being sarcastic, I just want to know why people are saying that.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Do it. I think it'll help loads in the long run. And I don't understand, if you are using the book as a guide, how can you teach yourself wrong? I am not being sarcastic, I just want to know why people are saying that.

I'm saying that, because I personally am an audio learner who needs a professor to help organize the information in a lecture for it to stick well for me. Otherwise, the information just gets jumbled around in my head and I mix things up.

Maybe that applies to the OP, maybe not, but all I know is that the only O Chem exam that I bombed was the one I pre-studied for. Some light studying like O Chem as a 2nd language might not hurt, but I certainly wouldn't study harcore or anything.

 

[sonia1177]

I'm saying that, because I personally am an audio learner who needs a professor to help organize the information in a lecture for it to stick well for me. Otherwise, the information just gets jumbled around in my head and I mix things up.

Maybe that applies to the OP, maybe not, but all I know is that the only O Chem exam that I bombed was the one I pre-studied for. Some light studying like O Chem as a 2nd language might not hurt, but I certainly wouldn't study harcore or anything.

Now, I see what you are saying. Sometimes I would also get lost in a whole bunch of random details that I didn't need. And when the Professor clarified what we did or did not have to know or organized the reactions, it was easier to follow. Especially when you get into things like amines, amides, esters. Everything seems like it gets jumbled up. Yeah, but I agree, don't think light reading and skimming and doing problems here and there would hurt. Just being familiar with something though you do not understand it fully helps a lot in the long run.

 

[lmarina1]

.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Nah. You never know what your professor will start off with or if they'll skip stuff at the very beginning. I decided I would get ahead last summer by reading chapter 1 of Bruice one week before class and doing some examples/problems. Low and behold, she skipped 90% of chapter 1. Started class without any sort of advantage.

 

[INTPThinker]

great lmarina1

 

[sonia1177]

I say do some reading during the summer. Not only will it help you loads being familiar with things, you will be able to learn much more in-depth since you have a head start. I recommend getting "Organic Chem as a second language" for some light reading to get a good grasp of the bare basics. I have been skimming through my copy before I take orgo in the fall. As far as reading the actual textbook: go easy and don't overdo it and as someone else said, don't teach yourself wrong.

It's foolish to think that prereading the material won't help, so study hard or go home brother. =p

this is what I meant. When I say skim, I'm thinking that since he or she can't prestudy everything right now, it may be good to get a very solid understanding of early chapters (basically acids, bases, drawing structures, resonance) and anything else you don't have time to do thoroughly (this means drilling problems until that's all you think about and can figure it out in your head ) just skim or read it lightly and do a few practice problems.also when you read, you can get an idea of what may give you trouble and then you know what you need to work extra hard on during the year (for me this was things like R vs. S and spectroscopy lol. But yes, start getting the concepts in your book and drill all the problems in early chapters over and over again so you hit the ground running and have a good view of the whole forest before you begin and don't have to worry about getting caught in all the little branches. I wish you good luck and happy studying!

 

[once]

So you hit the ground running and have a good view of the whole forest before you begin and don't have to worry about getting caught in all the little branches

^ I'm lovin it.

 

[PreMedder]

Solid post, lmarina1. Definitely agree - not quite sure how it could be a bad idea, unless you "learn it wrong." I've pre-read for classes before and it has significantly helped me learn it faster during the actual year since all the material wasn't completely foreign.

 

[Salient]

I might recommend reviewing acid/base stuff from GChem if it was something you struggled with at all. It's a small part of OChem, but intuitively understanding what pKa means will help you get more from your lectures the first time through. A lot of my classmates that didn't do as well in GChem really struggled with that stuff in organic because it was just assumed that they understood what the prof was talking about.

 

[Nabatov]

Beautiful. Thank you for this. I'm going into Ochem in the fall too, and this helps a lot.

I wouldn't "skim," cursory glances at the subject matter will just make it more obtuse and intimidating. The #1 thing in orgo is being extremely comfortable with the basics of the material--and the first big part of that is becoming fluent in the language. The best thing to do is not even really crack the text book.
1)Buy orgo as a second language
2)MASTER the first three chapters.
If you're gonna do it, do it while you are giving it your full attention, not while lounging around on the beach. Once you get over the Big Hump of seeing bond line structures and without thinking know where all the carbons and hydrogens are as well as all the resonance structures, you will be ready to totally nail the class. This NEEDS to become a trivial task for you within the first few weeks of class; people who fail are the ones who are STILL struggling at these basic tasks in November and December. If you make it a trivial task now, you will be far ahead of the curve, you will master it once classes begin, and you will be prepared for the heavier stuff to come. This is what screws people in orgo, and in gen chem and physics for that matter. They think some reading is good enough. You need to practice the absolute fundamentals of the class till your hands bleed, and then when you get to more advanced topics, instead of dreading it, you will be interested because you will get it!!

Again: orgo as 2nd lang, MASTER structural formulas, bond line drawings, nomenclature, and resonance. Do every problem twice. You will set yourself up for an easy A!

WHy is orgo as 2nd lang good? Because it doesn't scare you off. It gets right down to business about what you need to know and shows you step by step how to do it. It is the best-dsigned study aid for any undergrad course IMO. It throws you right into the mix and shows you how to begin in plain language. Minimal memorizing is necessary. I have absolutely no clue what these "memoriziers" are memorizing. This doesn't take talent, it takes time and smart study habits. You will find that Orgo I and II ultimately boil down to the application of relatively few basic principles that are very intuitive. Also, I think mental 3D visualization is an important skill I honed in Orgo, hence I didn;t like relying on model sets (again, practice practice practice stereochemistry when you get to it till you want to throw up from boredom). But different people learn in different ways.

Also, MCAT orgo tends to be relatively simple. The MCAT orgo problems I faced were trivial to me, and they will be to you too if you work very hard in your undergrad class to UNDERSTAND what is going on and to engrain the fundamentals into your muscle memory. If you do, any orgo discrete at the very least will seem like child's play. Therefore, the time you spend on orgo now will pay off in the end! Doing well in orgo no doubt helped me get a perfect score on the bio section. It is high yield, because you get that time back when you only have to do minimal review for the orgo on the MCAT, freeing up time to focus more on weaknesses. You are on the right track and you can do very well!!

Good luck!!

 

[Nabatov]

Hello, you saved time! She skipped most of ch 1, you already mastered it, she moves on, you dive into ch 2 no prob!

Nah. You never know what your professor will start off with or if they'll skip stuff at the very beginning. I decided I would get ahead last summer by reading chapter 1 of Bruice one week before class and doing some examples/problems. Low and behold, she skipped 90% of chapter 1. Started class without any sort of advantage.

 

[Amrazzz]

Should I do it before I take the class this fall? Is it a good idea and will it help me in the long run? If so, what books do you guys recommend?

Nope.... and to be fairly honest, Organic isn't a big deal as people perceive it to be. From personal experience, the first two months were the hardest, and once you get used to it and find your study schedule you'll understand it really easily. Honestly, I didn't do much for the class, crammed 2 days before the exam and still got As.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

There is rarely a point where "should I devote some of my remaining reserve of free time in life to prestudying something I'll have plenty of time to study later" will be answered with a "yes" by the majority of people who have been there and done that.

 

[JJMrK]

I say do some reading during the summer. Not only will it help you loads being familiar with things, you will be able to learn much more in-depth since you have a head start. I recommend getting "Organic Chem as a second language" for some light reading to get a good grasp of the bare basics. I have been skimming through my copy before I take orgo in the fall. As far as reading the actual textbook: go easy and don't overdo it and as someone else said, don't teach yourself wrong.

It's foolish to think that prereading the material won't help, so study hard or go home brother. =p

Do it. I think it'll help loads in the long run. And I don't understand, if you are using the book as a guide, how can you teach yourself wrong? I am not being sarcastic, I just want to know why people are saying that.

Whatever understanding you glean pre-reading will be superficial at best, and wrong at worst. You are MUCH better off taking it easy so you can hit the ground running. The key to succeeding is preventing burnout; the more relaxation beforehand the better.

 

[altered states]

dont do it... honestly orgo is not that tough, just put in the time n you'll do fine

 

[sonia1177]

Whatever understanding you glean pre-reading will be superficial at best, and wrong at worst. You are MUCH better off taking it easy so you can hit the ground running. The key to succeeding is preventing burnout; the more relaxation beforehand the better.

Everyone has their own way of learning. Prereading does certain people wonders. Just knowing what would be challenging ahead of time allows you to devote time to topics that need it. In other words, You make better use of time. Regardless, of the differing opinions we may all have, I think all would agree that you should do what is right for you. If you think prereading and being familiar with the material will help you and you have time, then by all means I would recommend doing it. If you just want to chill out over the summer then do that also. But I should point out that it is possible to do both. You are not tied to study all day everyday. Study when you want to or devote a certain time to it a day. It's summer! Do things when you want to do them. I think prereading and solving problems will do wonders. And I'm fine if other people think differently. YOU do what's right for YOU.